Educating girls is the key to ending poverty. In 2018, Mujeres en Cambio gave scholarships to girls from 46 villages in rural San Miguel.
Since 1995, Mujeres en Cambio has worked to foster the independence, education and enhanced quality of life of impoverished women and girls in the rural areas surrounding San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Its founders recognized that improving the educational prospects for rural women and teaching them skills to generate income was one of the surest ways to provide them with a pathway to an improved future. This led to a successful scholarship program that supports young girls who would not otherwise be able to continue their education — from junior (secundaria) and senior (preparatoria) high-school and on through university.
When it launched nearly 25 years ago, Mujeres en Cambio awarded seven scholarships; in 2018-2019, it granted 131 secundaria and preparatoria scholarships (5,500 pesos/$380 CAD per student per year), and 57 university scholarships (20,500 pesos/$1,400 CAD per student per year.)
The goal of the Amistad Canada Empowerment Through Education Project is to support ten more university and 28 more secundaria and preparatoria scholarship opportunities.
